Suggestion: Turn Balmung into an Official RP Server

[3Bears1Goldy]

I'm a roleplayer myself, so I would love a server with an actual 'RP' tag on it, it helps to keep fellow roleplayers together on the same server and keep the roleplay alive.

HOWEVER, it is important to keep in mind that Balmung consists of far more than just roleplayers.

In my humble opinion, the best approach would be to select two low population servers and open up temporary free transfers to them. One could be labelled with the 'Roleplay Server' tag (Mateus would be my choice. =P ) and another could be selected for non-roleplayers who have no interest in roleplaying. It would certainly aid with the population/server stability issues, while also giving players who wish to leave a choice, in addition to supporting the lower population servers. Because let's be honest, the poor server hamsters that power Balmung are probably going to die on launch day of Stormblood, if Square doesn't take additional steps.

[Abriael]

To be fair, people aren't relocating because the devs decided, for whatever silly reason, to lock servers without implementing any of the bonuses they promise will be available by June 16th.

What they have promised aren't even "Bonuses." Nothing of that is something I would classify as a real incentive. Sure, you don't pay for the transfer, and you can carry through more money, but that just mean you're not *losing* money (real and virtual), not that you're gaining anything. So basically they're asking people to move, losing all their housing/GC progress and social links, for a big fat nothing.

Which is why I mentioned in the OP that tangible rewards for moving would be necessary.

I'm a roleplayer myself, so I would love a server with an actual 'RP' tag on it, it helps to keep fellow roleplayers together on the same server and keep the roleplay alive.

Labeling RP a server that isn't the one where the overwhelming majority of the RP community already resides (and will always reside) actually achieves the opposite effect of fragmenting the RP community and the roleplay.

[3Bears1Goldy]

Labeling RP a server that isn't the one where the overwhelming majority of the RP community already resides (and will always reside) actually achieves the opposite effect of fragmenting the RP community and the roleplay.

A very good point. But I suppose still having a server with the 'RP' tag would help with the newer roleplayers that may be joining the game but cannot roll on Balmung for the foreseeable future. Rather than having them spreading out across additional servers, at least having them focus on one additional server that is open for character transfers and character creation is better than being spread out across all the other servers.

[MomomiMomi]

Not really. The overwhelming majority of the RP community is already on Balmung, and will always be. There isn't much gasoline left.

In our NN, we have to tell RPers who ask if there's an RP server everyday that Balmung is the RP server and it's locked. These people have nowhere to go.

That said, I'm not going to point them to Mateus until a consensus is reached.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

Labeling RP a server that isn't the one where the overwhelming majority of the RP community already resides (and will always reside) actually achieves the opposite effect of fragmenting the RP community and the roleplay.

But like many have already said, you aren't going to get PvErs to just up and transfers off Balmung with a RP label. There are fairly prominent FCs on this server (Ward; Highborn) who don't roleplay whatsoever yet have no interest in transferring. Like I said, the only incentive that works is a brand new server. Nothing else will get large established groups to try convincing all their members to move.

[Abriael]

A very good point. But I suppose still having a server with the 'RP' tag would help with the newer roleplayers that may be joining the game but cannot roll on Balmung for the foreseeable future. Rather than having them spreading out across additional servers, at least having them focus on one additional server that is open for character transfers and character creation is better than being spread out across all the other servers.

It possibly would, but I don't really expect a massive influx of new players to come with Stormblood. FFXIV is a mature game, and realistically most of the people interested in playing it, already did at some point. It will bring back a lot of lapsed players that are already on their server of choice.

The point is that by incentivizing (in a tangible and realistic way, not with a thank you and a pat on the back) non-roleplayers to move off Balmung, and using Balmung as what it already is officially, there is the possibility to lighten the load enough to reopen Balmung itself to new roleplayers, keeping the community together, which is IMHO desirable.

But like many have already said, you aren't going to get PvErs to just up and transfers off Balmung with a RP label.

No you're not. Hence the point that it would have to be associated with tangible incentives. Because if those don't come, no one (in numbers sizable enough to make a dent on the problem) will move at all anyway.

[Tsumdere]

What would labeling Balmung as RP do? It will achieve the same effect as putting a sticker on a cat that says "this is a cat".

Balmung is locked - no new roleplayers are going to be able to join anyways, people who don't roleplay aren't going to move off because of some arbitrary sticker next to server name that they will probably never see anyways, and the roleplay community will be less incentivized to move to smaller servers if they so wish to in the future.

[TheAngelneer]

Not going to happen, get over it.

If any server is branded RP it will be a new server, no matter how entitled you feel to owning Balmung.

[LaylaTsarra]

Not going to happen, get over it.

Server should have been closed a long time ago. It's about time. Balmung isn't the center of the Universe.

[3Bears1Goldy]

Balmung isn't the center of the Universe.

Lies and slander! Burn the heathen!

On a more serious note, let's hope SE makes good choices for the whole Balmung situation. All we can do now is wait and pray.